Ridged cocoa-hazelnut kisses joined with a dark-chocolate ganache, inspired by Alassio's pastry tradition.
Baci di Alassio
Follow the tray sizes, portions and baking intervals in the instructions below.
Allow about 171 minutes: 45 hands-on, 0 chilling or resting, 36 whole-batch cooking and 90 cooling/setting. Cooling includes tray rest. Follow the method for batch sizes and doneness cues.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- Kitchen scale and US measures
- Food processor
- Electric mixer and clean bowl
- Sturdy piping bag
- 1/2-inch open-star tip
- Two 13 × 18-inch baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Small saucepan
- Heatproof bowl
- Cooling rack
Ridged cocoa-hazelnut kisses joined with a dark-chocolate ganache, inspired by Alassio's pastry tradition.
Ingredients
Optional sprinkles are for decoration and are not included in the nutrition estimate. Spice weights are approximate.
Instructions
Grind the hazelnuts
- 1Grind the hazelnutsHeat oven to 350°F (177°C) conventional or 325°F (163°C) fan. Pulse the cooled toasted hazelnuts with 50 g sugar to a fine meal, stopping before oil appears. Stir in cocoa. This formula starts with already toasted nuts; extra nut toasting requires additional time.
Make and pipe the paste
- 2Make and pipe the pasteWhip whites with salt until foamy, add the remaining 100 g sugar gradually and whip to glossy peaks. Fold in the hazelnut-cocoa mixture and honey. Transfer to a sturdy bag with a 1/2-inch open-star tip. Pipe 40 rosettes about 1 1/2 inches wide, roughly 13 g each, 20 per lined 13 × 18-inch sheet, with 1-inch gaps.
Bake and cool
- 3Bake and coolBake one sheet at a time 15–18 minutes, 36 minutes total. The shells should feel set outside but retain a tender center. Conventional heat is preferred; with fan inspect a few minutes early. Leave on sheets 15 minutes, then on racks 30 minutes.
Fill the kisses
- 4Fill the kissesHeat cream just to steaming in a saucepan, about 3 minutes included in active time. Pour over chocolate, wait 2 minutes and stir smooth. Cool 20 minutes to a spreadable paste. Use about 8 g filling on each of 20 flat bases and pair with the remaining halves. Allow 25 minutes to settle before refrigerating; the conservative 90-minute cooling budget includes shell cooling, ganache cooling and filling setting.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Ingredient science
Use cooled nuts so the ground meal stays dry and the egg foam does not soften.
Technique & texture
Finely ground hazelnuts preserve star-tip definition; coarse chunks clog the tip.
Finishing & serving
Pair similar-size shells before dividing the ganache among the 20 sandwiches.
Storage and make-ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | Up to 2 hours for serving | The cream ganache filling is kept chilled for storage. |
| Refrigeration | Up to 4 days | Refrigerate filled kisses airtight and separate layers with parchment. |
| Raw freezing | Do not freeze | Bake the whipped egg-white paste promptly. |
| Baked freezing | Up to 1 month | Freeze unfilled cooled shells in a rigid airtight box; make fresh ganache after thawing. |
| Restoring | Before serving | Thaw shells sealed, fill, refrigerate and bring serving portions out briefly. |
Notes
- Use cooled nuts so the ground meal stays dry and the egg foam does not soften. Finely ground hazelnuts preserve star-tip definition; coarse chunks clog the tip. Pair similar-size shells before dividing the ganache among the 20 sandwiches. This home formula has not been kitchen-tested.
Nutrition
Approximate nutrition per serving calculated from ingredient weights divided by 20; required fillings and toppings included, optional decorations excluded. Brands, unused coating and actual serving size affect the estimate.
THE COOKIE INDEXITALIANCHRISTMAS COOKIES
Frequently Asked Questions
How are these different from baci di dama?
These use cocoa, hazelnuts, egg-white foam and piped rosettes, with ganache between them; baci di dama use small short-dough domes.
Does this reproduce a secret Alassio bakery recipe?
No. It is an original home formula inspired by the published pastry style.
Can I freeze the unbaked paste?
No. Bake the whipped egg-white mixture promptly; freezing it damages the foam.
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